Record numbers of adults are experiencing depression — more than 1 in 6 according to Gallup —  and the kids aren’t alright either. Teachers, coaches, parents, and guardians are seeing more and more students unable to concentrate in class, doing poorly on assignments, seeming more irritable than usual, or withdrawing from activities they normally enjoy. 

Indeed, the mental health crisis among Black American youth has reached emergency levels. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mental health problems amoung Black youth ages 10 to 24 skyrocketed nearly 37% between 2018 and 2021. 

Despite that, getting students the support they need isn’t always easy. In September, Celeste Malone, the immediate past president of the National Association of School Psychologists and associate professor of school psychology at Howard University, told Word In Black “there’s a lack of school-based mental health providers in general. But, acutely, there’s a lack of school-based mental health providers of color.”

Fortunately, organizations nationwide are stepping up to help. Here are five making a difference for Black youth:

1. Black Boys Better 

In September, a partnership between the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Creative Connections, created a new program for Black boys in the Atlanta metro area called Black Boys Better. 

Black Boys Better strives to help Black male youths become more emotionally literate so they can effectively express themselves, manage interpersonal conflict through methods such as discussion, poetry exercises, and more. Funding for the program came about after a discussion with Taylor Peyton, state opioid response coordinator for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

“I thought they would be turned off by the name because we were specifically targeting Black boys, but everybody that we have offered this program to — because we are offering to six schools across Georgia now — everyone agrees and wants to do it,” he told Atlanta Voice.

2. Rise for Mental Health

Once Beyonce’s Renaissance tour came to an end in May 2023, her world-famous French dancing duo  Les Twins brought their ability to use dance to improve well-being to the Rise for Mental Health tour. 

The tour is the result of a partnership with the Kids Write Network, an organization that works to boost student literacy. The recent increase in mental health challenges and teen suicide rates made KWN and Les Twins want to do something to help.

The tour incorporates dancing at the core of the program, which aims to get children’s brains and bodies moving in the hopes of helping heal them from whatever they may be going through at the moment. 

3. Art and Resistance Through Education

Art and Resistance Through Education’s main commitment is to provide a quality human rights education that informs students about the frameworks that exist to protect their rights and the rights of others. ARTE believes that young people are experts in their own experiences and should be provided a framework to amplify their voices and participate in meaningful change. 

In this case, ARTE engages young people to amplify their voices and organize for human rights change through the visual arts — using art, design, and technology. 

Although it isn’t directly aimed at solving the nation’s mental health issues, ARTE helps students develop creative projects that bring awareness to local and global human rights challenges, which can include the current mental health crisis happening amongst youth. 

ARTE centers youth voices, encourages advocacy, and provides opportunities for collaboration to allow students to step into leadership positions to train and organize other young people in their own communities.

4. Destination Tomorrow

Started in New York City in 2009, Destination Tomorrow was created to make sure Black and Brown LGBTQ+ individuals had a space they could call their own, which wasn’t the case at that time.

The organization provides a space for leadership, directing, and developmental services. Before receiving official funding to expand to a long-term LGBTQ+ program, the nonprofit had already been providing services to members of the community throughout the Bronx.

With transgender assaults and deaths on the rise, Destination Tomorrow continues to raise awareness about Black and Brown trans women who are experiencing violence — and they seek to get to the root cause of it.

5. Black Men’s Wellness

Community activist and educator Darrell Wade founded Black Men’s Wellness in YEAR. He has over 20 years of experience providing direct services and advocacy centered around racial equity, public health, and wellness for underserved populations and communities of color. 

Black Men’s Wellness is a community-based initiative that addresses health concerns commonly affecting Black men, including high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, anxiety, and more.

Through culturally specific, trauma-informed workshops, the organization engages Black men of all ages on the health issues they face, offering resources on nutrition and fitness to inform and empower them.

Resources

  • Find a therapist — psychologytoday.com offers a network of therapists who can help in your area.  
  • Call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for 24/7 free and confidential support for people in distress.  
  • The Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, confidential support through text messages to people in crisis when they dial 741741.  
  • Call 911.